Thanks for the input Guy. I am really interested in Mexico City...how have you found your work to be there?

I saw in the Mexico City vs. Bogota thread that EFLeducator experienced "low wages, students who had no respect for TEFLer's, classes cancelled every week, and no career path for a professional TEFLer. "

Does this ring true for you? It seems like investing the time and effort into networking and building your skill set would help a TEFLer advance in Mexico, just like anywhere else.

Yes, it would SEEM like the old networking approach would work but it doesn't. All it takes is one slip up, one person in that "network" getting on your badside for whatever reason and BOOM! You're out of the loop. Too much brown nosing for me personally. It's much better to make it on your own steam. That way you don't have to worry about getting on the bad side of just one person in that beautiful "network".

There's nothing wrong with making it on your own steam my friend plus you will feel better. Trust me on this one.

The issue here is how tolerant you are to living in the developing world, and to living in a part of the developing world that considers teachers a step or 2 above maids, who tend to be treated like indentured servants.

That was my experience in Mexico City as well. A friend of mine told me the same thing about teachers being seen as a little above a maid or indentured servant. Plus, most students only study English if they need it for their job. There's no real desire nor want when it comes to learning and studying English.

spanglish wrote:

After laboring as an ESL teacher for a few years you may begin wondering why you don't have the high roller life of a 'humble' NGO worker, an oil company worker or a diplomat, most of whom within a couple of years of starting their career will be making far more than you EVER will as an ESL teacher.

The issue here is how tolerant you are to living in the developing world, and to living in a part of the developing world that considers teachers a step or 2 above maids, who tend to be treated like indentured servants. After laboring as an ESL teacher for a few years you may begin wondering why you don't have the high roller life of a 'humble' NGO worker, an oil company worker or a diplomat, most of whom within a couple of years of starting their career will be making far more than you EVER will as an ESL teacher (okay, maybe not true for most NGO workers, but still....)

Sorry, sometimes it's frustrating to compare my salary with my successful Colombian friends who went into IT, the oil industry or have good government jobs. Their jaws drop when I tell them my salary and they assure me that I'm making 'really, really good money.' Meanwhile they are making 2, 3 or 4 times as much as me (or more!). It's just that a teacher 'doesn't deserve' to make a decent living.

naturegirl321 wrote:

I felt the same way and knew it was time to get out.

Right! Same thing happened to me in Mexico City.

naturegirl321 wrote:

Working 3 jobs, 6 days a week and being treated no better than a maid wasn't cutting it for me.

Wow...thanks a lot naturegirl and EFLeducator for writing your experiences in Peru and Mexico.
I'm starting to get a feel for how TEFL is in Mexico and Latin America...thank you all for sharing advice on this thread and others as well.
I'm looking forward to more input from other TEFLers!